Valve's Gabe Says "Yes" To Steam Linux This Year

[smitty3268]

Valve's employee handbook is amazing.

It helps you to understand how there still isn't a Half Life 3 yet, and why Valve Time exists.

http://media1.gameinformer.com/images/news/valve_handbook_lowres.pdf

[liam]

Linux kernel is GPL'd, and how did that help Android?

Please remind me how Android isn't open source.
The only parts of Android that aren't open source are some of the drivers, firmware, and the actual Google apps (like Maps, Earth, Navigation, etc).
Even their kernel changes away slowly being adopted into mainline (albeit, modified like the very recent autosleep pull).

[snuwoods]

I emailed Gabe asking of the email exchange quoted bungie Phorinux was authentic, he said "yes".

-.- not sure if this is a joke

[kazetsukai]

I hope this is a bad joke. Commercialization and embracing of Linux by corporations threatens to turn it into yet another flavor of Android. Linux must stay a system built for its users, not for all kinds of "investors" seeking to use it as a free distribution outlet for selling their snake oil (e.g. DRM'd programs such as Steam). I want Linux to be a safe harbor presenting an alternative to the greedy and insolent practices from the likes of Microsoft, Apple, EA and Blizzard (just to name a few) and so on. Admittedly, Valve's reputation is one of best in that bunch, but let's look at the facts: Steam is DRM, and every DRM goes against the spirit of collaboration, sharing and free software.

I, for one, call for boycott of every DRM on Linux, first and foremost - Steam.

You are operating under the assumption that a move to Linux for commercial products wouldn't inspire or encourage the use of more open source software. This assumption is, of course, false, since the user is still using an open source system.

You're also operating under the assumption that despite being an open source platform, companies looking to make money from Linux as a targeted platform would not invest in, contribute to, or produce open source software. This assumption is also false.

Is EVERYONE going to magically produce open source software because the entire underlying stack is open source? No. Will some companies see the light? You bet. Who knows what is around the corner if/when Linux gets seriously popular... Perhaps some company will figure out a licensing scheme where they can sell software in source form but still maintain reasonable control of distribution... and games are just inexcusable at this point: Either dual license the engine GPL/noncommercial or just go full GPL. Sell your friggin assets. Proprietary software is important but I don't really think they need to keep the source closed for ANY reason at this point. Sure, you can sell me the software, I'll bite. But give me a friggin copy of the source with it!

[mirv]

For those looking for more confirmation from a slightly more reputable source of gaming news

http://www.gamingonlinux.com/index.php?threads/steam-really-is-coming-for-linux.890/

My own email exchange with Gabe.

Now I might actually think they've got some sort of plans for steam, though I'll still only believe it if it materialises. I will however stick by my guns for this site - it could be released tomorrow, and any "news" on phoronix would still have been untrue, misleading, incorrect, and just plain false.

[johnc]

For those looking for more confirmation from a slightly more reputable source of gaming news

http://www.gamingonlinux.com/index.php?threads/steam-really-is-coming-for-linux.890/

My own email exchange with Gabe.

Hopefully you were torrenting some good anime.

[pandev92]

You do have a point.
When I heard about Android, I was so excited about it. When I finally got one, I felt a bit disgusted with it, but stuck with it realizing everyone else is as bad or worse.
I like Linux because its free, open source, and pretty free of DRM and malware.
Ubuntu now have a partner repository with proprietary software.
How long is it until we get spyware and browser toolbars, changed browser home page, popups and adware and shit like that?

As Linux gets increasingly commercialized the plagues of Windows and the proprietary/commercial software ecosystem infect us.

This won't happen, I think that in the future linux will be like osx but free of patents.

[Kristian Joensen]

The email I got was 100% real. Absolutely not any kind of joke or trolling or fakery or anything like that on my part at all. So if that is really Gabe's email address and it is not hacked then yeah it is very much real.

[locovaca]

Please remind me how Android isn't open source.
The only parts of Android that aren't open source are some of the drivers, firmware, and the actual Google apps (like Maps, Earth, Navigation, etc).

Oh, so only the interesting parts of Android aren't Open Source. Doesn't sound like Open Source to me.

The Open Handset Alliance develops the changes to the Linux kernel, in public, with source code publicly available at all times. The rest of Android is developed in private, with source code released publicly when a new version is released. Typically Google collaborates with a hardware manufacturer to produce a flagship device (part of the Google Nexus series) featuring the new version of Android, then makes the source code available after that device has been released.

In early 2011, Google chose to temporarily withhold the Android source code to the tablet-only Honeycomb release, the reason, according to Andy Rubin in an official Android blog post, was because Honeycomb was rushed for production of the Motorola Xoom, and they did not want third parties creating a "really bad user experience" by attempting to put onto smartphones a version of Android intended for tablets.[136] The source code was once again made available in November 2011 with the release of Android 4.0

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_%28operating_system%29

True open source organizations don't close off their source until they decide to make it "open."

[smitty3268]

Oh, so only the interesting parts of Android aren't Open Source. Doesn't sound like Open Source to me.

LOL. In that case Linux isn't open source either, what with all the binary drivers and applications you can run on it.